Tumkuru: The Congress government which has come into power with a clear majority in the state is confident that they have fulfilled the five guarantees given in the manifesto during the elections.
On the other hand, free travel guarantee for women in government buses is coming into effect from June 11. Private bus owners of district are concerned that this will have an adverse effect on them.
Speaking about this, Basavaraj, a private bus owner, said that the private bus owners in Tumkur district are in trouble because of the free bus travel scheme. He urged government to give assistance to private bus owners as given to government buses.
“We also take women for free, he said. Giving free bus travel to women is like hitting us in the stomach. More than 20 families depend on private buses for their livelihood. In this case, free bus travel has been implemented for women, since women are not travelling in private buses, we don’t know whether we should run the bus or commit suicide..? Basavaraj appealed to the government to give subsidy to diesel because the price of diesel is high, or waive the taxes imposed.
More than 700 buses are plying in the district. Let the private buses be taken under the government. As an alternative to the private bus traffic system in the district, the government has to show the way for the bus owners and drivers to become financially empowered. And we pay 70 to 80 thousand insurance every year. How to pay tax due to implementation of free bus scheme in the coming days? Basavaraj asked, make us insure or tax free. Already the number of women coming to private buses has reduced. Generally, there are private buses in the district for rural areas, where women can travel for free in government buses. This will significantly reduce the number of women coming to private buses. Thus, he expressed concern that the private bus owners are going to get into financial trouble.
